Position battles set to heat up as Wofford opens camp

Sunday

Aug 4, 2013 at 11:17 PM

Quarterback, offensive line and cornerback are the top three position battles as fall camp starts Monday for the Terriers.

By TODD SHANESYtodd.shanesy@shj.com

The journey has begun.Wofford football players reported to campus Sunday and had their first team meeting on the eve of the 7 a.m. running tests and 6:15 p.m. practice to kick off the season.The Terriers will go straight to Gibbs Stadium, at least until the middle of next week, with the practice fields being used by NFL's Carolina Panthers for their training camp. By Friday, Wofford players will be in full pads and by Saturday, they'll have their first scrimmage.Wofford, which went 9-4 last season, 6-2 in the Southern Conference for a share of its second league title in three years, was picked in a preseason poll of media members as the favorite for another championship.The Terriers will enter their first season since 2007 without running back Eric Breitenstein, who graduated as the school's career rushing leader with 5,730 yards. And while it remains to be seen how Wofford will handle that loss, it's clear that senior Donovan Johnson, with more than 1,700 career rushing yards, will take over at that spot.But at other positions, it's not quite so clear. There is much to be settled before the Aug. 31 opener at Baylor. Here are three battles to watch in the coming weeks.

This is a fairly important position to settle, huh? James Lawson will open preseason as the No. 1 guy. The junior from Pickens High made only two starts last season, but one was in a win that clinched a share of the Southern Conference championship and the other was the FCS playoff game against Northern Iowa. He saved the season numerous times in other games as well with solid performances and calm leadership.Lawson, a former walk-on, was third on the depth chart before his late-season heroics. After starter Brian Kass got hurt, sophomore Michael Weimer was next in line. He was the Southern Conference player of the week earlier in the season with 141 rushing yards on six carries in a relief role. Weimer, however, injured a knee and eventually needed offseason surgery. He is healed and ready to challenge.There are also a couple of wild cards in second-year freshmen Evan Jacks and Taylor Bragg. It would be quite a leap if either is able to jump into consideration, but both played well in the spring when Weimer was held out.

Wofford lost a pair of all-conference linemen in Jake Miles and Calvin Cantrell, as well as T.J. White, who topped both of them in knockdown blocks, including 21 against South Carolina. Josef Grommer (Spartanburg High), the only backup to make any starts, also graduated. Those are big losses among the big guys up front.Tony Goodwin (6-5, 300, junior) seems the front-runner at left tackle. The other two spots seem up for grabs. Jared Wilken (6-2, 305, junior) and T.J. Chamberlain (6-2, 293, soph.) will battle it out for right guard. At right tackle, second-year freshman Bradley Way (6-2, 280) will have to hold off true freshman Anton Wahrby (6-4, 245). A native of Sweden, Wahrby graduated early from Lexington High School and was impressive as he participated in spring practice at Wofford.

Wofford will also have new starters on the corners of the defensive backfield. The Terriers lost standouts Blake Wylie and Stephon Shelton. Wylie was a shutdown defender who led the team with three interceptions, including one for a touchdown in playoffs. Shelton was the fourth-leading tackler.Stepping into those spots will be largely untested talent. Junior Bernard Williams and sophomore Brion Anderson came out of spring practices as No. 1 on the depth chart. Anderson had 10 tackles last season and Williams had three, all in the game against Lincoln University.Behind them, also in position to make strong statements for starting jobs, are second-year freshmen Josh Grimes and Chris Armfeld. Neither has stepped foot on the field for a college game.